The field of the present invention is engine cooling systems for motorcycles and particularly water-cooled systems for scooter type motorcycles.
Motorcycles and particularly small motorcycles have typically employed air cooling systems because of the lighter weight and compact nature of such systems in comparison to water cooled systems. Air cooling eliminates the necessity of the cooling fluid, the radiator, the water pump, the water jacket at the engine and the necessary tubing. However, water cooling generally provides a more efficient cooling medium than air and thereby a more constant engine operating temperature and reduced noise.
Water-cooled engines, in requiring a radiator, further require ducting for air flow to the radiator and then from the vehicle. As a result, compactness is forfeited, a major consideration in small motorcycle design. The use of radiators in such small motorcycles has also detracted from their use because location of the radiator in front of typical mid-body engines exposes the radiator to damage from objects picked up from the roadway. Placing the radiator away from the engine in a less vulunerable location requires extensive use of piping between the radiator and the engine.